Friday, July 17, 2009

there has been an enormous amount of discussion about the 'boxer girl' mural on w street in the northern part of bloomingdale. a local tv station has even covered the story, and it's been all over the neighborhood listserv, with a large number of people expressing vehement opposition to the artwork, calling it 'graffiti', and deriding the fact that it was produced (partially) with public funding.

personally, i love the mural, and i think it adds a bit of color to a grand old rowhouse.

the reason i bring this up is the message that was posted to the bloomingdale listserv a couple days ago:

Good morning, I’ve passed the following package onto your director as well. DPW would like to move forward quickly to begin selecting potential sites for graffiti murals. These walls are typically privately owned, highly visible and have been the target of graffiti in the past. I look forward to your assistance in identifying locations in your jurisdictions that would be a good fit for this valuable project, which has helped to reduce illegal tagging in neighborhoods across the District. I welcome your suggestions and guidance. Thank you!

pat: i agree, this would be a decent location for a mural, but i get the feeling that whoever buys the one-story building on the corner will add two floors on top to get a good return on their investment, and any mural would get covered up.

if someone wants to help me out with logistics, paperwork, and all, i'd be happy to do some paint work around the hood. my style is definitely not graph oriented, but if thats your preference i know some great artists.

shoot me an emailart at wheresmycoffee.comif'n you want to make it happen.

Another idea: the row house west of Windows Market and the Chinese restaurant is a big gray wall that is rather visible from the east side of the Rhode Island and 1st St intersection. I think this would be a good spot for some art as it already has some graffiti on it. Also, perhaps the back side, away from Rhode Island, of Windows.